Glass tile



(No Model.)

W. BUTTLBR.

GLASS TILE. No. 394,@10. Patented Dec. 18, 1888.

Vitro Enamel. .7

. I milaim tmiren STATES PATENT rrrca- XVILLIAM BUTTLER, OF PIT'SBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE BUT"LER ART GLASS COMPANY, OF FOSTOBIA, OHIO.

GLASS TILE.

SPECIFCATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 394,910, dated December 18, 1888.

Application filed September 8, 1887. Serial Ne. %9,145. (No specimens.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, \V1LLIAI\I BUTTLER, of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Penusylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Glass Tiles; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying' drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view'ot' a glass tile constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-section on the line ;r .cc of Fig. l.

Like symbols of reference indicate like parts in each.

Heretofore glass tiles have been made of solid glass simply pressed into the desired shape, and while they are very useful for many purposes their surtaces lack that brilliancy and luster which are so desh-able for decorative purposes.

My improvement consists in such tile provided with a surface coating of e'laze or enamel, which fills up the slight irregularities of the surface and gives it a smooth and beautiful' appearance.

In order to make glass tiles according to my invention, I take them after 'they have been pressed and coat their faces with a liquid glazing or enamel compound ot' a suitable color, preferably by dipping them into a vessel containing' the compound. This 'liquid is a compound ot' the sort used t'or g'lass-pai'ting, and contains mineral substances which t'use together at a comparztively low degree ot' heat, and which, when fusedpvitrit'y and unite with the surface ot' the glass, which sottens, but does not fuse at the fusing temperature ot the glass or enamel. These substances are mixed with oil and tu rpeutine to the proper consistence, and the mixture is then preterably applied by dipping the surface of the tile thereinto. The tile is then removed, and after the liquid has set it is taken to an oven and burned in the usual way.

In the drawings, 2 represents the body 'of a glass tile which has been so made, and 3 is the facing of vitreous enamel which is integral therewith.

The advantage ot' my improvement is that I produce a tile With enameled surface which is not apt to crack or to break off from the body of the tile. Heretofore enameled tile had a hacking made of clay, and because of the different properties of the vitreo us facing and the clay body they are apt to expand and contract ditt'erently under the influence of heat, and When in use the absorption of moisture by the porous-clay hacking sWells it,whi1e the dense vitreous tacing is not aftected thereby. The tile is also subjected to moisture in the operation of setting,because it absorbs moisture from the plaster, and it is customary to dip the tile in Water to moisten it before it is laid. These causes often make the enamel to crack and soon spoil the beauty and usefulness of the tile. lVith my improved tile this is not the case, because both the facing and the body of the tile are of vitreous substan ce, and therefore are affected in the same degree by the action of heat and moisture. The tiles are therefore much more durable than those heretofore made.

I claim- As a new article of manufacture, a tile or block for decorative purposes having an outer skin ot' vitreous glazing or enamel and a hacking of pressed or molded glass, to Which the glazing or enamel is applied and fused,

i whereby the said skin or facing is preserved unaftected by theintluence ot' heat and moisture, substantially as and for the purposes described.

In testimony whereot I have hereunto set ny hand this Gth day of September, A. D. 1887.

WILLIAM BUTTLER. W'itnesses:

W. B. CORWIN, THOMAS W. BAKEWELL, 

